Do you miss what MGMT was supposed to be? “Paint Me Silver”
is the best of three outstanding tracks by the Australian psychedelic rock
band.

9. Spoon – “Can I Sit Next to You”

“Can I Sit Next to You” is a classically classic Spoon song:
tightly produced, a little funky, and Britt Daniel’s raspy growl. This is a
summer with the windows down song.

8. Drake - "Passionfruit"

Six years ago Drake released a slow, dark, heartfelt track
called “Doin’ It Wrong” with Stevie Wonder on harmonica, and for six years it’s
been one of my favorite songs in my collection. Along with other more
R&B-tinged songs like “Hold On, We’re Going Home”, Drake has it within him
the ability to be one of my favorite artists, though he is clearly more famous
for other kinds of songs. This year he did it again, adding Caribbean flair
with soft steel drums to “Passionfruit” while his voice carries the song and
sets a distinct mood.

7. Violents & Monica Martin - "Unraveling"

Here’s the sad break-up song of the year. “Unraveling” is
beautiful and heart-wrenching. It comes from a place of low lows, acknowledging
when you’re falling apart. Best moment: the strings that come in around 3:30
and Martin delivers the line “I much prefer you the way that I found you”.

6. Marshall McLean - "Level Out"

Marshall brings Americana right out of Spokane, Washington.
He hasn’t broken out yet, but do yourself a favor and check his music out.
“Level Out” is his best work yet. The guitar work here is magical, from the lead
to the steel guitar, and McLean’s distinctive voices offers a little bit of
chill, “I’m just spinning my wheels, killing time until I feel, that the time
is right for me to level out”.

5. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - "Over Everything"

Perhaps the polar opposite to the previous song, “Over
Everything” is absolutely wonderfully positive, with a perfect lazy happiness
encompassing everything about it. The style’s of Barnett and Vile, both great
artists on their own, blend so well here it’s hard to believe they are not a
normal pairing. I have spent the year singing the line “When I'm outside in a
real good mood/You could almost forget bout all the other things/Like a big old
ominous cloud in my periphery.”

4. The War on Drugs - "In Chains"

The War on Drugs are the best band that you aren’t listening
to, and with their latest album they drop a collection of songs that once again
is the best of the year. The album’s most cathartic moments come from “In
Chains”, a seven and half minute propulsive gem that, like much of their music,
comes from a place of anxiety. But on “In Chains” that anxiety seems to break
through and a concluding line like “We can try and learn to make it
through/Then come out the other side” sound positively positive.

If you, like me, are a sucker for Sufjan Stevens, don’t miss
the top tracks from his somewhat bizarre collaboration album based around the
planets in the solar system. But like every Sufjan album, no matter how odd or
bloated, there is a moment that stops you in your tracks. For me that song is
Neptune, a track that is as close to film score as a moving Sufjan piece, and
the marriage of the two is breathtaking.

2. Coldplay - "All I Can Think About is You"

Despite the release of Coldplay’s completely average
partnership with The Chainsmokers this year that moved the charts, Coldplay
also released its best song in years and years on a little album called the
Kaleidoscope EP. “All I Can Think About Is You” is a slow builder that breaks
into a classic piano line then bursts forth with the best minute and a half of
music this year. Rank this one amongst the very top songs they’ve ever written
in their now lengthy and impressive career.

1. Iron & Wine - "Thomas County Law"

There is something about “Thomas County Law” that paints a
picture and a feeling stronger than any song this year. It’s a song about a
town, a home, and as Sam Beam says, “both denying and accepting one’s origins”.
There are those who dream of leaving (“every dreamer falls asleep in their
dancing shoes”), those who have been left behind (“there ain’t a mother with a
heart less than black and blue”), and those who know they shouldn’t have left
(“I may say I don’t belong here, but I know I do”). “Thomas County Law” is Sam
Beam and Iron & Wine’s return to form, a step forward by taking a couple
steps back. It’s lyrically perfect, musically stirring, and it’s the best track
of the year.